Lions Dismantle Jaguars, Provide Season-Defining Loss

The NFL tabbed a Florida team for a Week 11 bye. The issue is that the Jacksonville Jaguars seemed to misread the schedule. While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers didn’t see the field in Week 11, most Jaguars players didn’t appear to walk out of the tunnel either. 

The NFC-leading Detroit Lions leveled Jacksonville with a 52-6 victory, the largest in the league this season. 

The Miami Dolphins, the state’s other NFL team, defeated Las Vegas 34-19.

The Cage of Lions

College football games can become blowouts, but NFL games are typically competitive. Once players are good enough to become professionals, the talent gap between teams dwindles. But the Lions’ offensive skill players might be better than everyone else.

Detroit (9-1) scored seven touchdowns in the rout where the Jaguars’ defense couldn’t plug any of its many holes. 

The Lions’ passing game terrorized the Jaguars secondary behind a career performance from Jared Goff. The Lions’ signal caller passed for 412 yards and four touchdowns with only five incompletions. Receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams were the beneficiaries of Goff’s performance, hauling in a combined 285 yards. St. Brown scored two touchdowns and Williams added another from 64 yards out. 

All gas ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/1qaJA3Qm02

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) November 18, 2024

While the Lions’ offense passed well, its strength—the running game—was also impressive. The Jaguars struggled to contain the Lions tandem of running backs, allowing Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery to each rush for more than 65 yards. Montgomery got into the scoring action first, rushing for two touchdowns, while Gibbs added another down the stretch. The Jaguars defense didn’t get in the Detroit backfield at all. Jacksonville finished with no sacks (only one in the last two weeks) and three tackles for loss (only seven). 

“I don’t know how many explosives we had, but we had a ton, and then the first downs, 30-something first downs,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “I mean, that’s just, that’s a collective effort; that takes a lot of guys to be able to do that.”

The Jaguars’ defense entered the contest third to last in points allowed per game in the NFL but didn’t help itself Sunday. The Lions finished with 645 yards, almost 100 more than the Jaguars have put up over the last three weeks combined.

Cat Nap

It wouldn’t have been impossible to imagine the Jaguars offense waking up for the cross-conference matchup. After a seven-point performance against the Vikings last week and with coach Doug Pederson nearing a firing point, there was reason the Jacksonville offense might step up. That didn’t come to fruition. Jacksonville has averaged under 20 points per game, struggling to score consistently, which wasn’t more evident than Sunday.

Against the Lions, the Jaguars tallied 179 total yards of offense — nearly the same amount the Lions had in the first quarter. Quarterback Mac Jones, filling in for the injured Trevor Lawrence, averaged 4.8 yards per attempt with a 31.1 quarterback rating. The struggles didn’t fall entirely on his shoulders, though.

The Lions’ defense pressured Jacksonville consistently, and while it only finished with one sack, Jones often only had a few moments to make decisions. Because of that, Jacksonville’s receivers didn’t flourish against Detroit. Rookie Brian Thomas Jr. finished with 82 yards, while all other pass catchers combined for 56. 

Za'Darius Smith gets a sack in his first game with the @Lions!

📺: #JAXvsDET on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/f1baYOiUxO

— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024

The Jaguars’ running game was notably worse. The Detroit defensive line dominated the line of scrimmage, holding running back Trevor Etienne Jr. to 27 yards. A theme of the season, Jacksonville turned away from its rushing attack early, finishing the game with 17 attempts.

What’s Next?

Falling to 2-9, the Jaguars now sit alone with the worst record in the NFL. Following the historic drudging, Jacksonville holds a sub-1% chance of making the playoffs. Monday will be a big day for the Jaguars, as there is speculation Pederson may have concluded his time in Duval County. He addressed the rumors after the loss, detailing his mindset during the tumultuous period.

“I have to start there, look at myself and obviously the staff, and what are we doing, how are we preparing our players, and then same way with the players, right?“ Pederson said.

The Jaguars have a much-needed bye this week and will next host the AFC South-leading Houston Texans on Dec. 1.